The invention relates to computer networking. More specifically, the invention relates to Local Area Networks (LANs). Even more specifically, the invention relates to methods and systems for optimizing data transfer on a Local Area Network by prioritizing specific data types
Networking allows one device (e.g., a computer) to send information to and receive information from another device (e.g., a computer). In 1973, at Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center (more commonly known as PARC), researcher Bob Metcalfe designed and tested the first Ethernet network, a standard networking protocol that is used widely today. Metcalfe developed the physical method of cabling that connected devices on the Ethernet as well as the standards that governed communication on the cable.
Computers and computing devices currently need to communicate with each other almost constantly. Thus, the high-speed communication provided by networking represents an important aspect of many businesses. The current industry need for fast, efficient, low-cost networking, drives a continual effort to improve networking architecture, protocol, and performance.
One type of network is a local area network (LAN). LAN's may provide a communication interface in many environments, e.g., a factory containing many automated machines communicating with each other. Through a LAN (hardware, network protocol, etc.), the machines communicate to each other or to a control center, thereby allowing a complex, coordinated communication capability. The networked automated machines and processes, however, are often limited by the speed of the LAN to which they are connected.
The network speed can be affected by the number of computing devices that share the network, the size and number of messages being sent over the network, processing speed, etc. The algorithm that controls the transfer of data is called a protocol, e.g., Ethernet. If many messages are being processed on the network at the same time, a bottleneck is often created because each computing device (often called a node) receiving the messages must take time to analyze parts of each message.
There are many types of data transmitted over local area networks, each with a different signature. Some data has a higher priority than others, especially in time sensitive applications (e.g., automated machinery) that rely on specific data being transferred over a LAN in order to perform a function. Many existing network protocols, however, provide only primitive priority message handling, i.e., priority data often waits to be processed. Additionally, some data transmitted over a LAN are not even relevant to every device on the network, but still require processing time.
In the past, efforts to increase the speed of extant LANs have mainly focused on either increasing the processing capacity and/or increasing the communication bandwidth of the networks. In particular, increasing network bandwidth has recently been advancing more rapidly than processing power, and is a common “upgrade” to existing networks. While adding more processing power and bandwidth to a network can be effective, it is an expensive solution to a problem that can be resolved by efficient network data management.